Friday, February 19, 2016

Character Interview: Sandy Fairfax, Teen Idol

Where are you from?
Did you have a happy childhood? I grew up in the small town of Conejo
Hills, in Ventura County just west of Los Angeles. Looking back on ones
childhood is subjective, as one has no other frame of reference as to what is “normal.”
Music was a huge part of my upbringing. My mother was a professional singer
before she got married, and my father is the founder, conductor and artistic
director of the Golden Wing Orchestra. I started singing in the boy’s choir at
church but surprisingly never sang in a school choir, probably because when I
outgrew the church chorus I was busy with piano and violin lessons. My brother,
Warren, and I were, naturally, quite competitive, always trying to win Father’s
affection. My sister, Celeste, was born blind, so the family pampered and
watched out for her. Sis and I were pretty close growing up.

Where do you live
now and what do you do for a living? Is there something you'd rather be doing?I own a house in the Hollywood Hills,
overlooking Universal City. In my late teens/early 20s I was a teen idol and
starred in my own TV show, “Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth,” as well as two Buddy
Brave movies. Those four years were quite a ride. But as they say, the bigger
they are, the harder they fall, and I crashed and burned big time when my show
was cancelled and the record company became more interested in promoting the
next big sensation. For a number of years I did an occasional TV guest spot but
I mostly drank myself crazy and got into trouble with the law.

Now I’m 38 years old and finally sober. In
my first book, “The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper,” I describe how I tried to kick
off my comeback and ended up cornering a killer at a Beatles fan convention.I’d love to make some more movies or possibly
another TV series, and spending more time with my kids (my ex has custody). I’d
like to try my hand at songwriting. A new album would be fun, something
introspective and personal instead of pop ditties. But for now I’m taking one
day and one job at a time and counting my blessings.

What's going on in
your life right now? I
just got back from a week of concerts onboard a Caribbean cruise (you can read
about that adventure in “The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper”). On the cruise I
patched things up with my estranged sister, but my brother and I were still
barely speaking. That changed in my upcoming book, “The Quirky Quiz Shop
Caper,” when one of Warren’s students at the college was murdered, and the
killer framed my brother. Not only am I helping to find the murderer, but also
Warren and I have to smooth out our rocky road to put on a show together for a
black tie benefit gala. Also, I’m a guest panelist on a dreadful TV game show
and I discover the producer is manipulating the winners and losers. Can I beat
him at his own crooked game?

Is there someone
special in your life? Ha ha, funny you should ask. Yes, there is. She’s a
lovely girl named Cinnamon Lovett. We’ve know each other for a while but now
we’re finally able to start dating and get to know each other.

How did you meet?
What's his/her family like? I met Cinnamon in my second book, “The
Sinister Sitcom Caper.” When I did a guest appearance on a sitcom, the studio
hired her as my choreographer for a dance scene in the show. When I first saw
her in the practice studio, wow! my libido kicked into overdrive. Her first
words to me were, “You’re late!” Hardly an auspicious start, but we’re finally
starting to mesh. I haven’t met her family yet. That will be often awkward
because most people know me as the kid teen idol and it’s hard at first for
them to relate to me as an ordinary guy.

What's keeping you
two apart? Cinny’s
been burned by previous relationships so she’s hesitant to jump into another
one. Also, my reputation as a ladies’ man is not helping—Cinny’s afraid she’ll
end up as just another notch on my bedpost. But I’m not going to let that
happen. I really care for her. I’m use to women throwing themselves on me, so
I’ll have to slow down with Cinny. Besides, we’re both quite busy. She runs a
dance studio and I have my work as well. And she lives in Ventura County, a
distance from my L.A. home, so I can’t run over to see her on the spur of the
moment.

What one thing
could you do that would make you feel like the relationship will work out?I’ve thought about moving to Ventura
County myself. A number of show biz people live there to escape the L.A. hassle.
My parents and kids reside there as well, so I’d be closer to everyone
important to me. But we’ll see. In the mean time, I’ll see Cinnamon as often as
I can and keep her involved in my life and my sleuthing. A guy never knows when
he’ll need a choreographer.

Any last comments?
I’ve
thought about what makes me a good amateur sleuth. Since people know me, or at
least my public persona, they feel comfortable around me and they’ll answer
questions about the murder. And the bad guys underestimate me. They think I’m
just a pretty face and I’ll outsmart them. Hey, a fella has to have some brains
to be a teen idol.

Coming Soon from Cozy Cat Press: “The Quirky Quiz Show
Caper”

Book blurb: Sandy’s family is
in a pickle. His father’s orchestra is facing bankruptcy, and his brother is
framed for murder. Sandy finds himself in an art deco theater, a college
campus, a radio station and on a crooked TV game show as he pursues the killer.
Sandy nearly sings his swan song at a black tie gala benefit when the murderer
tries to silence him for good. And Sandy’s also looking for clues on how to
make his lovely choreographer his steady girlfriend.

Excerpt.

(Set in an old art deco theater)

I wormed my way
through the dark, labyrinth backstage area. No wonder old theaters had ghosts—a
performer could get lost in here and die. I descended a stairwell with concrete
walls that shut out all other sounds. The door at the bottom opened to the
basement level. The hall went straight into a dead-end and also split with a
branch to the left. Just past this corridor was the elevator. To my right stood
the door to the organ room. Just as I started punching the numbers onto keypad,
from the left-hand hall came the sound of people running—and a scream.

As my left ear had
lost some of its hearing during my boisterous concert days, I turned my head to
listen. Footsteps echoed through the passageway.How
odd. Nobody else should be here. Warren was the only performer in here on
Mondays; he worked in rehearsals around his teaching schedule. Maybe he was
meeting somebody, but why make an appointment in the basement of an empty, dark
theater?

“Warren?” I
called. “Is that you?” Curious, I detoured into the split-off.

A flickering
fluorescent ceiling light cast a cold glow. Doors for the dressing, makeup and
costume rooms lined the lengthy corridor. The strong odor of disinfectant hung
in the air, the result of the cleaning crew. A young man, his ample girth ready
to explode out of his tee-shirt and jeans, staggered toward me. He weaved
about, ready to topple. Was he drunk? Sick? He flailed his arms and made odd
gurgling sounds.

“Are you all
right?” I asked.

Something from the
man’s hand fell onto the tile floor with a “clink.” He tumbled forward. I
dropped my cane and caught him. I staggered; his weight pushed me back against
the wall. I couldn’t hold his hefty frame and I slid down the wall, still
holding the man. I landed on my butt.

That’s when I
noticed the knife stuck in his back.

Sally Carpenter is a native Hoosier now
living in Moorpark, Calif.

She has a master’s degree in theater from
Indiana State University. While in school her plays “Star Collector” and
“Common Ground” were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act
Playwrighting Competition.

Sally also has a master’s degree in
theology and a black belt in tae kwon do.

She’s worked as an actress, college
writing instructor, jail chaplain, and tour guide/page for Paramount Pictures.
She’s now employed at a community newspaper where she writes the Roots of Faith
column (www.theacornonline.com).

Besides the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol cozy
series, she’s written short stories in two anthologies: “Dark Nights at the
Deluxe Drive-in” in “Last Exit to Murder” and “Faster Than a Speeding Bullet”
in “Plan B: Omnibus.”

Her first mystery, “The Baffled
Beatlemaniac Caper,” was an 2012 Eureka! Award finalist.